What about trucks?

Are we not paying enough attention to trucks when it comes to their greenhouse gas emissions?

When we talk about greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector, often the focus is on overall emissions without considering the contribution of different vehicle types. For example, when we look at the trend in emissions from the transportation section since 1990, we see a 42% increase (from 122 Mt in 1990 to 173 Mt in 2015) as expected since the number of vehicles has increased as the population has increased.

With the announcement of Tesla Semi and other electric trucks, it is time to seriously start looking at these other types of vehicles.

But, if we dig a little more, we see that emissions from passenger cars have DECREASED since 1990. This is despite a greater number of vehicle on Canada’s roads. So, what is contributing to the increase in transportation-related emissions? It turns out that emissions from passenger light trucks and freight trucks has been increasing.

With the announcement of Tesla Semi and other electric trucks, it is time to seriously start looking at these other types of vehicles.

Send a letter to the Ministers of Transport, and Innovation, Science and Economic Development urging for a ZEV mandate

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Dear Ministers Garneau and Bains,
 
I commend and thank you for appointing an advisory group to recommend policies on zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) in Canada. Since transportation accounts for a quarter of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Canada, developing evidence-based policies that could lead to a meaningfully greater share of ZEVs on Canada's roads would facilitate reduction in GHG emissions and could help us to meet our international commitments.
 
There are several policy tools that could be deployed to increase the number of ZEVs. These include providing incentives to potential buyers, helping build a electric vehicle charging network, and a ZEV mandate. 

Many provinces already provide incentives for buying ZEVs and funding to development of a network of charging stations. However, without a ZEV mandate these policies will have limited success. Research from Simon Fraser University suggests the current supply of electric vehicles will not lead to a market share that will lead to significant emissions reductions. 

A balanced and flexible ZEV mandate with a target of 10% and 70% of new vehicles sales by 2020 and 2030 would lead to a significant reduction of emissions from the transport sector. In addition, an Ecofiscal Commission report suggests that a ZEV mandate could be a cost-effective measure to achieve this reduction.
 
To this end, I urge the Federal government to develop and implement an evidence-based, balanced and flexible nationwide ZEV mandate with a goal of increasing ZEV sales to 10% and 70% by 2020 and 2030.
 
Thank you for your time and consideration,
 
Yours Sincerely,
(your name)

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What about trucks?

Send a letter to the Ministers of Transport, and Innovation, Science and Economic Development urging for a ZEV mandate